Improvement in breech-loading



E. SNEIDER. Breech-Loading Fire-Arm.

Patented Mar. 20, 1860.

tJNrrED STA ES PATENT ()rrrce:

o. EDWARD sNnID'n'n, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, AssIoNon TO THOMAS POULTNEY, OF sAME PLACE. A

IMPROVEMENT |.N BREECH-LOADING FI RE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 27.600, dated March 720, 18 60.

f0 all whom, it may concern: I

Be it known that I, G. EDWARD SNEIDER, of the city of Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Breech-Loading Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure l is a side View, partly in section, of the breech and parts of the barrel and stock of a breech-loading rifle with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same. Fig. 3 is an under side View of part of the spring which locks the breech. Fig. 4-is a perspective view of the wedge-spring which is applied to the lockingspring.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention relates to the lockingspring that is used to secure the breech and barrel together in condition for firing in some kinds of fire-arms.

It consists, first, in a certain contrivance applied to such locking-spring for the purpose of constituting means of adjustment, to make the said spring lock the breech-joint tightly, and compensate for wear of the said spring and the projections on the breech and barrel, upon which the said spring acts.

It consists, secondly, in certain improved means of raising the locking-spring from the projection on the breech to-unlock it and permit it to be opened for loading.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the breech, attached permanently to the stock 0; and B is the barrel, connected with the bottom of the breech by a hinge-j oint, a, b is a square projection on the breech, and c a corresponding projection on the barrel to fit the opening in the locking-spring D. The locking-spring is attached at its front end to the barrel by a screw, (1, or other suitable means. The opening 1' c, that is provided in the said spring, is made of the same width as the projections b c, and of a length somewhat greater than the combined length of the projections b 0, to make room for the steel wedge e, which is made in the same piece with or permanently attached to the front end of a small spring, f, which is fitted to a recess provided for it in the bottom of the rear part of the lockingspring, and is attached at its rear end to the latter spring by a screw, 9. The rear end of the opening is slight bevel to correspond with a taper of the wedge c.

h is a set-screw screwing through the locking-spring to press on the spring f close to the wedge e,-for the purpose of forcing the wedge e downward in the opening 13 5, that the projection 12 0 may fit tightly between the front end of the said opening and the face of the wedge, and so secure the barrel and breech closely together to make a perfectly tight joint. By screwing down the set-screw to force down the wedge, whenever the locking-spring, owing to wear of any of the parts, or from any other cause, has failed'to make a tight joint, the tightness of the joint may be re-established.

j is a pin fitted to slide up and down through an opening provided for it in the breech, with its lower end inside of the trigger-guard E.

This pin, when the breech is closed, has its upper extremity under the rear end of the locking-spring. V

F is a small trigger-like lever attached by its fulcrum-pin 7a to the front part of the inte rior of the trigger-guard, and occupying a position directly under the pin j.- This lever is provided with a shoulder, Z, to come in contact with a stop, m, attached to or formed upon the trigger-guard for the purpose of preventing it from moving downward farther than is necessary to allow the pin to descend lower than just sufficient to permit its upper end to clear the locking-spring when the breech is closed. When the stock is grasped in the right hand, the lever F can be easily forced upward by the forefinger thereof for the purpose of pushing up the pin j against the locking-spring to raise it from the projection b, and unlock the breech from the barrel to per.- mit it to be opened.

WVhatI claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is v made with a i 1. The combination, with the locking-spring stantiaily as and for the purpose herein speci D, of the Wedge e, the spring f, and the setfied. screw h, the Whole applied and operating sub- .T 1 stanbially as and for the purpose herein speci- EDVARD Sb LIDER fied. 1 XVitnesses:

2. The lever F, applied in combination with J OHN N. MAOKENHEIM, the trigger-guard and with the pin j, sub- M. H. HAY\VARD. 

